Press release archive

BMH UK's director Matilda MacAttram will be among the guests on Radio Four, Summer Nights programme this evening at 11.00pm, with presenter Hardeep Singh Kohli , who will be examining whether Briton has reached the end of the road with the political classes.

Entitled 'Fixing Professional Politics' presenter Singh Kholi will be leading the discussion with activists and campaigners working outside of traditional party political allegiances who have made significant inroads when in comes to influencing Government policy and public opinion, at a time when electoral membership and party membership is in long term decline.

Along with MacAttram guests in the studio will include: Professor Steven Fielding professor of politics at Nottingham University, feminists and journalist Laurie Penny, and campaigns and public policy professional Emma Burnell.

The Australian activist who disrupted last year's University Boat Race on London's River Thames by swimming into the path of the crews and is now facing deportation by the Home Office will also join this debate, along with co-editor of ConservativeHome.com and political director of the Tax-payers alliance, Jonathan Isaby and member of the far right UKIP (UK Independence Party) Alexandra Swann.

Matilda MacAttram director of Black Mental Health UK said: 'BMH UK have always campaigned on issues that are of critical importance to the communities that this organisation has been set up to serve, such as the over representation of black people detained under the Mental Health Act, the criminalisation of innocent people through the national DNA database and to see an end to deaths in custody.

It is often the work of activists who are connected to those on the front line that brings important issues to the attention of Government. We have seen that there are career politicians who jump on the bandwagon in order to look good without the sincere desire to serve this group.

The communities affected by these issues can see this and that is why there is distrust of some career politicians. The reason that people go into politics should not be to serve themselves but those including the voiceless groups that they have been elected to represent.'

- Black Mental Health UK is a human rights campaigns group established to address the over representation of African Caribbean's within secure psychiatric care and raise awareness to address the stigma associated with mental health.